For some cooks, a decorated table is just as important as the feast that rests on top. That is the case for Sunday Times’ food columnist and cookbook author, Skye McAlpine, whose latest cookbook was inspired by friendships and festive meals in Venice, Italy.

Next week, the cookbook, “A Table for Friends: The Art of Cooking for Two or Twenty,” will be released in the US after becoming one of the top sellers on Amazon UK. Skye was born in London and raised in Venice from the age of six. Unlike her last book on Venetian cuisine, this one reflects the “higgledy-piggledy cultural make-up” of her heritage and covers elements beyond Northern Italian and Venetian food.